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Cutscenes
In the beginning of the game and in between levels, cutscenes between a man named Darius and a police officer named John West will play. They follow the story behind the Party Hard killings strung across the U.S., revealing more and more about the officer, the killer, and the officer's daughter, Katie. Major plot spoilers ahead. Intro Mr. West: My name is Inspector John West, I was... Darius: Take your time, Mr. West, deep breaths. You want a drink? Mr. West: Whiskey. Hold the rocks. Darius: Hold the rocks! Hilarious, Mr. West. Mr. West: Fuck you. My name is Inspector John West. I was the officer in command on the Party Hard killings. Darius: Can you describe to me exactly what the Party Hard killings were? Mr. West: They were a series of murders strung across the U.S. during the Autumn break of 2000, exclusively taking place in and around house parties, rooftop parties, cruise parties, you name it. This guy was there, stabbing his way through the crowds. Darius: And what was the motive, Mr. West? Mr. West: This guy... he just wanted some peace and quiet... Darius: Maybe you should start from the beginning, inspector. It might give us a better idea of where this all went so wrong. First Mr. West: One of my officers responded to a call down near North Beach. It was the end of April, so typically a bunch of the college kids in the area were getting hammered instead of prepping for their finals. If only the stupid bastards knew... Bikers Darius: You arrived at the scene after the assailant had fled, correct? Mr. West: A little after 3 AM, yeah. Darius: Were you aware of his current mental state at this time, Mr. West? Mr. West: His mental state? Darius: His confusion. The blood dripping from his hands, like someone else was driving him forward - yet a bright light leading him onwards. Mr. West: I heard that "bright light", as you so eloquently put it, was just a bunch of biker trash scumbags in search of lost souls. Guess he musta hitched a ride with them somehow. Darius: Perhaps it was when they realized that the party was already dead - excuse the pun. Speaking of dead, wasn't your daughter at that party, Mr. West? Mr. West: ... Seeing her blood zigzagging between those bathroom tiles... it was like a sledgehammer using my stomach as a welcome mat. Drowning without water. Jesus, she was so messed up that I couldn't even ID the body. Vegas Mr. West: They took me off the case after what happened with Katie, but let's just say I was keeping up to speed by other means. Once the Ranch Massacre happened, my colleagues were more than happy to unofficially keep me informed. It seemed obvious to me that this was just the beginning, and I had Las Vegas down as one of the contenders for the next attack. Course, the problem is that Las Vegas is one Hell of a landmass to keep a watchful eye over... The kicker is that he was spotted leaving the scene on a shuttle bus. A goddamn bus! Darius: So you're saying the perpetrator was calm, even after what he'd just done? Mr. West: I'm saying this kid was a fucking psycho. Darius: Please, Mr. West, try to stay professional. Mr. West: You're a funny guy. Either way, I still don't know how he evaded the entire police force descending down on him. It was like the devil was on his side. Walk Mr. West: The Vegas Killings were the ones that really threw this son of a bitch into the spotlight - that's when the papers started calling him the Party Hard killer. Two massacres in one night. He had the gall to stalk the streets with cops all around him, sectioning off the city, and simply pick another spot to call his killing ground. Darius: But you know, Mr. West, the city - this living, breathing organism, dowsed in lights and scars - it can really bring feelings bubbling up to the surface for some people. Mr. West: Is that so? Why a roof party, then? It made no sense with his MO. Darius: On the contrary, Mr. West, I'd suggest it made perfect sense. Being so close to the sky, yet behaving like worms... perhaps those people simply deserved to be back in the dirt where they belonged. Road Mr. West: And then... there was nothing. Months and months of goddamn nothing, just frustrating, goddamn silence. This shadow had swept through our lives and then hidden away like the yellow-belly piece of shit he is- Darius: Mr. West, please, let's stick to the facts. What do you think he was doing during this time? Mr. West: Damned if I know. Tell you what though, those months dragged and dragged - the papers wanted names, there was severe public unease, the police force was a laughing stock. You'd never guess that one single sicko could rip this country apart so badly. And then one day... out in the desert... there was an encounter. Darius: What kind of encounter? Mr. West: A guy driving late one night, told us later he nearly hit this guy who stepped out in the middle of the road. Apparently he didn't say much, although the driver was in shock as you'd expect. He just sort of... threw a flyer at the guy's feet, said he needed help. Darius: Needed help? What kind of help? Mr. West: Said he needed a ride... to a party. On a boat. Yacht Darius: Ah yes, I heard about the cruise liner disaster... although I assume it wasn't the rushing water that killed those people, as the news had us believe. Mr. West: Sometimes it's easier to keep the people safe by shielding them from the truth. Darius: Yeeess well, that's an interesting sentiment, although I'm guessing the people on that boat may feel a bit short-changed. Though while we're on the topic of truth, you were about to discover a truth of your own, am I right Mr. West? Mr. West: The girl... Darius: Yes, the girl. Tell me about the girl, Mr. West. Mr. West: From what I understand, she'd been... following him since he first began his descent to madness. Darius: Stalking him, perhaps? Mr. West: Label it what you want. Seems like she was... a fan of his work. Wanted to study his methods, as sick as it sounds. She was always a troubled child. Darius: You seem to be well acquainted with our newly found heroine, Mr. West. Mr. West: And you know exactly why, you son of a bitch. It was Katie. It was my daughter. Bus Mr. West: I didn't catch them in Miami. I didn't even visit the scene. Darius: Why was that, Mr. West? Mr. West: Tired, I guess. I'd been chasing this nut job for months at this point. And now that Katie was confirmed to be in his company, it was a lot for one man to take in. Darius: How did you think Katie was involved, Mr. West? She was always one to be driven by danger, correct? Mr. West: It's a strange, fucked up situation you're in, if you're hoping, praying that your own daughter has been snatched away by a mad man. It was better than the alternatives. Darius: It must have crossed your mind that Katie was, in fact, the killer all along? It would have been clever, really, faking her own death to escape an abusive father. How was your relationship with your daughter, Mr. West? Mr. West: Goddamn you. God fucking damn you. Forest Mr. West: I finally caught them a few weeks later, out in the middle of nowhere, his car just pulled up onto a dirt path. Darius: What was he doing, Mr. West? Mr. West: I'd been staring at photos of Katie every night for the last month. The ink had started to run off where I'd been pressing the corners so tightly- Darius: What was he doing, Mr. West? Mr. West: He was... admiring his handiwork. Darius: I wouldn't worry, Mr. West. The chances are it's what she wanted anyway - to be one of his works of art, so to speak. Mr. West: Fuck you. I was ready to put a bullet in the back of his head there and then. It would have been so easy, so satisfying. It was what he deserved. Darius: What changed your mind? Mr. West: I'm a cop, Darius. The American people rely on figures like myself to uphold the law. Killing him would have made us one and the same. Darius: How very noble of you, John. Mr. West: Once again, fuck you. But you know, the world has a funny way of showing gratitude for such self-less acts. Darius: I'm assuming you're referring to the blinding light that apparently "engulfed" your car? Mr. West: I still have no idea what it was, or what caused it. I guess this terror of darkness has somehow found a friend in the light. And of course, when I came to... I found my car had made a strong connection with rather incompatible foliage. Worse still, my back seat was devoid of serial killers. Ambulance Mr. West: The descent. A violent maelstrom. Nature has a way of bringing even the most devious of minds back down to Earth, and shortly after the Saw Mill Massacre, our psychopath succumbed to the outdoors, of all things. Darius: Really now, Mr. West, can we stop with the cliched storytelling. This isn't a tale from Narnia. How could you possibly know his motivations for being in that wood? Perhaps he wanted to feel closer to the nature. Perhaps he was tired of killing. Just perhaps, he wanted to feel closer to his victims. Mr. West: All I know is, when the cops turned up to search the surrounding areas they turned up nothing. And this was a place right out in the middle of nowhere, so it wasn't like he could have gone far. There was only one possible explanation... He'd managed to hitch a ride out of there. Darius: You think he called the paramedics himself? Mr. West: Well it makes sense, right? Splatter yourself with some of the blood at a mass murder scene, and the medics aren't exactly going to be picky about who they pick up. He's breathing, so you get him in the wagon ASAP. Of course, this particular "victim" was breathing a little too well for his, and their, own good. I guess they may well be adding a new phrase to the ambulance protocol handbook: never give drugs to a psychopath. Halloween Mr. West: His craft continued onwards for the next few weeks at pretty full force. Darius: As I understand it, his newfound experience with medicinal drugs really got him fired up, correct? Mr. West: He just became unrelenting, and the public were completely losing confidence in the police force. Well, no, they'd already lost all confidence - now they were forming task forces and going out into the streets themselves looking for him. We just couldn't keep up with him. He even had "followers" by this point - groups of people who saw what he was doing as some kind of means to a human utopia. Drugged There is no speaking in this cutscene- only a picture of a man, presumably Darius, lying down on a single, plain white bed while the screen focuses in and out, the color's tint fluctuating. The title of the cutscene strongly hints to what happened. Campus Darius: We're getting close to the end of the story, isn't that right, John. Mr. West: A bunch of his avid followers - his so called "Party Harders" - were said to be holding a party down in the San Francisco subway after hours. Darius: And you heard about the party just in time to catch him, is that correct? Mr. West: That's what I was hoping. Darius: What was your plan exactly? The last time you encountered this man, it didn't exactly swing in your favor. Mr. West: I knew exactly what I had to do. It was plain and simple; He had to be stopped. Underground Darius: So tell me, John - did you find what you were looking for down here? Mr. West: You fuckin' tell me, Darius. Darius: You know John, we're really not that different, you and I. You can make out like you're the heart of gold and I'm the malicious prick here, but you never really tried to stop me, did you? Mr. West: You say that like I had a choice. Darius: You always had a choice, John, you know that. You're not weak. You allowed me to do these things, John, and now you want to justify it all to yourself, wash your hands clean of any wrongdoing. Mr. West: I don't... I'm not like you. Darius: Come on John, sooner or later you're going to have to admit it to yourself. You enjoy the rush just as much as I do. The splatter. The silence. Mr. West: I just... I mean, do they really deserve all this? Darius: John, look around you. The world is falling to shit. These people, they don't realize how good they've got it. We're doing them all a favor. Mr. West: But I- Darius: John. You've just spent the last half hour sat here trying to convince yourself that what we're doing is wrong. What have you learnt? Mr. West: I... Someone needs to be thinking about the bigger picture, I guess. Darius: There you go, John, you get it now. Let it go. Mr. West: Come on Darius. Let's go home.